Learning Bahasa Indonesia – Pronouns

Bahasa Indonesian uses the following pronouns.

First Person

• Saya (standard, polite),
• Aku (informal, familiar),
• Kami (excl.),
• Kita (incl.)

Second Person

• Anda (polite, formal),
• Saudara (male)/Saudari(female) (polite, formal)
• Kamu (familiar, informal),
• Kau (familiar, informal),
• Engkau (familiar, informal),
• Kalian (plural, informal),
• Anda sekalian (plural, formal),
• Saudara(i)-saudara(i) (polite)

Third Person
Ia,
Dia,
Beliau (addressing to high respected person )
Mereka


Saya (I – me – my)
‘Saya’ as a first personal pronoun means ‘I’ whether it’s subject or object. For non-formal conversation, or among people in the same age, the word ‘aku’ is sometime used. ‘Aku’ is sometime shortened become ‘ku’ in possessive pronoun. Like ‘ibu saya’ or ‘ibu aku’ or ‘ibuku’ means ‘my mother’. Even, ‘aku’ is sometime shortened become ‘ku’ following verb.

Example:
Saya seorang sopir (I am a driver)
Ibu saya memberi saya sepeda baru (My mother gives me a new bike)
Ibu saya memberi aku sepeda baru (My mother gives me a new bike)
Ibu saya memberiku sepeda baru (My mother gives me a new bike)
Saya mengirim email kepada teman saya (I send an email to my friend)
Aku suka ayam goreng (I like fried chicken)
Bapak aku sedang sakit (My father is sick)
Aku sedang sibuk (I am busy)
Elizabeth membantu aku mengetik surat (Elizabeth helps me type a letter)
Elizabeth membantuku mengetik surat (Elizabeth helps me type a letter)


Kamu (You – you – your)
‘Kamu’ as a second personal pronoun means ‘you’. But ‘kamu’ can not be applied in every situation as well as to address any person we talk to. The word used for ‘you’ depends on the age, gender, and social position of the person you are addressing and the situation. When in doubt, it is better to be more formal than too casual.

It is not suggested to use ‘Kamu’ to people who are older and/or higher in rank because you will be perceived as rude, impolite, and disrespectful. The word ‘kamu’ is almost never said to older person. It is better to use ‘Anda’ or ‘Saudara’ instead of ‘Kamu’
On the other hand, it is always OK to use ‘kamu’ to people who are younger and/or lower in rank than us. Although, using ‘Anda’ is okay to respect others. ‘Anda’ is used in singular or plural.

Example:
Kamu boleh pulang jam 10 (You may go home at 10 o’clock)
Bapak memberi kamu uang untuk membeli buku (Father gives you some money to buy a book)
Semua orang menyukai kamu (All people like you)
Anda sangat baik sekali (You are very kind to me)
Saya berharap Anda semua dapat membantu saya (I hope you all can help me)
Saya berharap Saudara semua dapat membantu saya (I hope you all can help me)
Senang bertemu Anda (It’s nice to meet you)
Bantuan Anda sangat diperlukan (Your helps are needed here)
Bantuan Saudara sangat diperlukan (Your helps are needed here)



Kalian (You)
‘Kalian’ as a second personal pronoun means ‘you’ in plural form. Almost the same as single ‘you’ or ‘kamu’, ‘kalian’ can not be applied in every situation as well as to address any person we talk to. The word ‘kalian’ also depends on the age, gender, and social position of the person you are addressing and the situation.
It is not suggested to use ‘kalian’ to people who are older and/or higher in rank because you will be perceived as rude, impolite, and disrespectful. The word ‘kalian’ is almost never said to older person. It is better to use ‘Anda sekalian’ instead of ‘kalian’ to respect others. Although ‘Anda’ is used in singular or plural, sometimes we may use ‘Anda sekalian’ or ‘Anda semua’

Example:
Kalian boleh pulang jam 10 (You may go home at 10 o’clock)
Bapak memberi kalian uang untuk membeli buku (Father gives you some money to buy a book)
Semua orang menyukai kalian (All people like you)
Anda semua sangat baik sekali (You are very kind to me)
Saya berharap Anda sekalian dapat membantu saya (I hope you all can help me)
Senang bertemu Anda semua (It’s nice to meet you)


Kami (We – us – our)
'Kami' (exclusive/excludes listener) is used when the person or people being spoken to are not included. Kami (we, referring to 1st and 3rd person),

Example:
Kami akan pergi ke Jakarta besok (We will go to Jakarta tomorrow); the listener is not in a part of the speaker or the speaker will go with other persons.
Kami memiliki rumah baru (We have a new house)
Rumah kami dekat dengan sungai (Our house is close to the river)


Kita (We)
'Kita' (inclusive/includes listener) includes the opposite party. The usage of ‘kami’ or ‘kita’ is increasingly confused in colloquial Indonesian. Kita (we, referring to 1st and 2nd person)

Example:
Kita akan pergi ke Jakarta besok (We will go to Jakarta tomorrow); the listener is in a part of the speaker or the speaker will go with the listener.
Kita harus pulang (We must go home)
Ibu sedang menunggu kita di rumah (Mother is waiting for us at home)
Rumah kita dekat dengan sungai (Our house is close to the river)


Mereka (They – them – their)
‘Mereka’ is the third party (persons, animals, things) in plural form. In Bahasa Indonesia, ‘mereka’ is commonly used for persons and animals, rarely for things.

Example:
Anak-anak sedang bermain sepak bola, mereka sangat gembira (The children are playing footbal, they are very happy)
Kupu-kupu itu sangat cantik, aku menyukai mereka (Those butterflies are very beautiful, I like them)
Kemarin bapak membeli 5 buku. Buku-buku tersebut diatas meja (Yesterday father bought 5 books. They are on the table)

Dia (He – him – his)
Dia (She – her – her)
‘Dia’ is third person singular. In bahasa Indonesia, there is not any different for ‘dia’. It is used both for male and female. Sometimes, suffix ‘-nya’ is used to refer ‘dia’.
To people who are older and/or higher in rank, ‘beliau’ is used to give respect.


Example:
Santi adalah siswa Sekolah Dasar, dia pergi ke sekolah jalan kaki (Santi is an elementary school student, she goes to school on foot)
Benny sedang membantu bapaknya, dia adalah anak yang rajin (Benny is helping his father, he is a diligent boy)
Mr. Surya seorang guru, beliau berasal dari Surabaya (Mr. Surya is a teacher, he comes from Surabaya)
Joe adalah anak yang baik, aku suka padanya (Joe is a good boy, I like him)


Dia (It – it – its)
As above, ‘dia’ is third person singular. In bahasa Indonesia, there is rarely found ‘dia’ referring ‘non-living thing’. Sometimes, suffix ‘-nya’ is used to replace ‘dia’.

Example:
Aku memiliki buku baru, aku meletakkannya didalam tas (I have a new book, I put it on my bag)
Ayah membelikan aku sepeda baru, aku membawanya ke sekolah (Father bought me a new bike, I bring it to school)


OK, I think it’s time to have a rest, ……………
See you at the next lesson!!



Reference

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesian_language
http://www.bahasakita.com/
http://pusatbahasa.diknas.go.id/kbbi/index.php
http://kamus.orisinil.com/
http://bahasa-indonesia.com/index.html